The Annihilator is armed with four side-mounted miniguns, which are difficult to aim and require reloading after prolonged fire, but which are hugely devastating to people and vehicles alike, and are essentially supplied with infinite ammunition. Normally, AI-controlled Annihilators never use their miniguns, instead relying on NOOSE soldiers seated on the rounds to fire on the player, however in The Ballad of Gay Tony mission "High Dive", NOOSE uses the miniguns in full effect to assault the player while he is on top of Rotterdam Tower. A passenger in an Annihilator (or any other helicopter) can shoot an assault rife type weapon whether they are in the large passenger bay in the center of the chopper, or in the copilot's seat. Entering the Annihilator in multiplayer automatically grants the player a Rocket Launcher with 8 rounds.

The helicopter moves faster than any other vehicle in GTA IV, but is more difficult to slow down as a result. An effective way to slow down is to stop accelerating, pull back, and accelerate once again with the L-stick still held back, as opposed to simply reversing. In The Lost and Damned downloadable content, the top speed was increased and explosive minigun rounds were added, which destroy helicopters, cars, and people very quickly.

The Annihilator is a popular vehicle in GTA IV's Multiplayer modes because of its speed, maneuverability and resistance to enemy fire. In TLAD, the Annihilator isn't made available in single-player mode; it can only be acquired with cheats, or by sniping an Annihilator pilot flying low enough that the helicopter won't explode upon crashing. The Annihilator remains available in TLAD's Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch.

It is very commonly used in multiplayer, particularly Team Deathmatch, where the TLAD edition's explosive shells destroy vehicles easily and obliterate ground forces. The only weapons that can truly duke it out with the Annihilator are RPGs, assault rifles, or other Annihilators. The RPG can explode the Annihilator, or blast its tail off, forcing it to spin out of control. Annihilators facing their counterparts can do the same, or they can shoot off the rotor, also causing a crash. M4 or AK users have the range and stopping power to potentially kill pilots and/or passangers. Users of sniper rifles may also be able to pluck a pilot out of the sky with a headshot.

Locations

One on a helipad at Northeast police station in Algonquin. It is watched over by LCPD officers armed with rifles, but stealing it will only attract the usual one star for vehicle theft, which can easily be evaded with the chopper.

One in Purgatory near the Golden Pier. Taking this will attract no Wanted rating, since no one is guarding it. It can also be found in multiplayer.

One on a helipad at a police station near Chinatown. Can be accessed by parking a large van/truck under a vent on the north side of the building,then jumping up a series of vents and edges to the top.

Prominent appearances

Trivia

The helicopter can lose its blade or tail, causing it to either hurtle towards the ground or spin wildly out of control.

Although the Annihilator has four M134 7.62 NATO miniguns, each has an unrealistically low rate of fire. The ROF of all four guns firing is slightly slower than that of an SMG; in real life, each of these should fire at least 70 rounds per second, with the helicopter's total ROF being 280 to 400 rounds per second with all miniguns firing.